Study of Ebola patient traces disease progression and recovery

The patient received intensive supportive care, including fluids and electrolytes, but did not receive any experimental Ebola drugs. The research team used blood samples taken daily throughout the patient's hospitalization and recovery to measure the rise and decline of virus replication inside white blood cells and serum and to track the timing, intensity and duration of expression of numerous immune system genes. This allowed the team to correlate changes in gene expression with subsequent alterations in the patient's clinical condition. For example, the study characterized changes associated with the development and resolution of blood clotting dysfunction and multiple organ failure during the critical phase of illness.

Although this study represents only a single case, it provides unprecedented detail on the host response to Ebola virus disease and may inform the development of therapeutics designed to boost or accelerate host factors that most effectively counter the virus and promote healing. It may also lead to better prognostic criteria to enable clinicians to tailor the treatment of patients with Ebola virus disease in ways that can best promote recovery.